Federal agriculture minister Andy Mitchell was expected to announce this week an extension in deadlines for selecting 2003 and 2004 coverage levels under the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program, at least in the six provinces where Ottawa administers the program.
Farmers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland now have until Nov. 1 to select coverage levels under CAIS.
The deadline for filing the CAIS supplementary forms also has been extended until Nov. 1 in those provinces.
The deadline for depositing into the CAIS account to enrol in those provinces, plus Yukon, remains Dec. 31.
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In Alberta, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, where the provinces administer the program, the deadline for coverage selection has passed. In Quebec, it is Oct. 31.
Because there are no national rules for the program, the deadlines for deposit for the 2003 and 2004 years vary. In Ontario, it passed on June 30 and in Quebec, it is Oct. 31.
The deadline extension for choosing the level of CAIS coverage was alluded to Sept. 10 when Mitchell announced the latest BSE recovery package. The formal announcement was scheduled for later this week after Western Producer deadlines.
Since the mechanism to deliver quick cash is an advance through CAIS, the federal government extended the deadline to allow producers who had not joined, but who want BSE money, to reconsider.
Federal and provincial agriculture ministers meet in Prince Edward Island this week and a review of CAIS is on the agenda. However, communications official Ellen Funk said Sept. 17 there is no evidence the provinces that administer the program will change their deadlines to conform to revised federal deadlines.
“We have not had any indication that the provinces are considering a change,” she said.
